


Lazarus

by Dont_touch_the_phlebotinum



Series: Machines, Gods & Monsters [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Gen, Jötunn Loki, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 09:05:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4558788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dont_touch_the_phlebotinum/pseuds/Dont_touch_the_phlebotinum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It turns out, Bucky's not the only one to come back from the dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lazarus

Waking up in an unfamiliar bed was nothing new by now. Even before Bucky had been hunting HYDRA across God's green Earth he'd spent his life holed up in safe houses between his missions as the Winter Soldier, when he wasn't locked away in storage, and living in tents and foxholes during the Italian Campaign. The last time he'd slept in his own bed had been before he'd ever shipped out to war. It was a nomadic existence, but through it all, the motel rooms and SHIELD safe houses he called home for a week or two at a time until he moved on to the next, there was one constant that made it worthwhile.

Loki's arms were wrapped tightly across Bucky's body, holding him close against his chest. Bucky would never admit it to him, unless he felt like being subjected to merciless teasing, but there was something comforting about being wrapped in Loki's arms. Being protected. Knowing he could let Loki be strong for him if he ever needed him to. He smiled to himself and leant back into Loki's embrace.

He'd thought it would take more than a little getting used to, waking up to someone curled next to him after so long in solitude. Maybe it would have done had it been anyone else Bucky was waking up with, but by now he was so used to having Loki at his side, it would probably be the bigger shock to wake up without him.

Loki stirred behind him and Bucky twisted in Loki's arms to watch him open his eyes. "More nightmares?" Bucky said as Loki loosened his grip. Usually when he dreamt of his life as the Winter Soldier the memories were enough to have him waking in terror until he felt Loki's hold to root him in the present, yet this morning he couldn't remember having dreamt at all. It was progress, he supposed.

"You were fidgeting in your sleep," replied Loki, his voice thick, while he closed his eyes again and rolled onto his back. He really wasn't a morning person. "You aren't an easy man to share a bed with, you know."

Bucky smiled again and carefully sat up — though not carefully enough. Sharp pain shot through his abdomen, enough to make him wince, but he managed to bite back his gasp before Loki noticed anything was amiss. "Says the guy who likes to give people frostbite in his sleep," he shot back once the pain had subsided to a dull ache.

"I think that's something of an exaggeration." While Loki spoke Bucky leant forward to reach for his pants at the foot of the bed. Loki's eyes were on him when Bucky glanced back in his direction, watching him with a frown. "What are you doing?"

"We've still got work to do." He stood to slip into his pants and Loki rolled onto his vacated spot on the mattress, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"You aren't going anywhere."

"I'm okay, Loki."

That wouldn't be the end of it, though. Loki shot him a sceptical look, but to Bucky's surprise he didn't open his mouth to argue. He had a much better way of proving his point than that, as it turned out.

Without a word Loki jabbed a finger into Bucky's side, using the dot of red that had soaked through Bucky's bandages as a target guiding him right to the point he could cause the largest amount of pain. Bucky doubled over with a cry, one hand on the mattress to steady himself while the other clutched his wound as he took a shaking breath.

"Clearly," Loki said.

Once Bucky had straightened again, his hand still pressed against his wound as he felt fresh blood trickle from it, Loki snatched up the first aid kit from the bedside table and sat in front of him. "You need to rest, Bucky," he continued, swatting Bucky's hand away so he could peel the stained gauze from his skin. "Not even you can shrug off a bullet to the gut."

"We can't waste a whole day sitting around doing nothing." It was bad enough that Loki had dragged them back here the night before as soon as he'd realised Bucky had been injured — if they'd waited, they could have taken out the rest of the HYDRA agents they'd found there and then. "They're probably already on their way out of the country."

"In which case, Coulson and his team will track them down again. That is what he's there for, is it not?"

As he spoke, Loki pressed an icy hand to Bucky's skin, and Bucky covered it with his own even as his fingers began to numb from the touch. He closed his eyes while the cold steadily chased away the searing pain in his stomach, his free hand sliding into Loki's hair when he leant in close to press a soft kiss over Bucky's heart. One day off would probably do them some good, if only to give his wound more time to heal before he threw himself back into the fray. He and Loki would both be going stir crazy by the evening, though.

Loki pulled his hand away after a moment and helped Bucky fix his clean bandages in place, but before Bucky could climb back into bed a loud vibrating sound filled the room, and he glanced over his shoulder to see his phone threatening to skitter off the dresser.

The sound prompted a groan from Loki as he flopped back onto the mattress. "If that's Coulson, tell him we've killed enough people for him this weekend."

"Like you'd ever grow tired of that." Bucky kicked his way through Loki's discarded clothes scattered across the bedroom floor to answer the call. "If you've got another job for us, it'll have to wait," he said, still clutching his wound while he leant against the wall for support. "These guys have been one step ahead of us this whole time. It's like they knew we were coming."

He didn't want to imagine how that was possible, or why the group they'd been tracking had seemed to be targeting him specifically. It was probably a query to take to Coulson, though, if there were more double agents at SHIELD he hadn't sniffed out yet. It would certainly make his and Loki's job easier if they knew there wasn't someone out there warning people of every move they were about to make.

" _It's not a job_ ," Coulson replied. " _You need to come back to New York._ "

"That's a little out of our way, Coulson."

" _I know. A quinjet is on the way to your location now; it should be there in less than five hours_."

Bucky frowned. "What about the job?"

Loki had propped himself back up onto an elbow, watching Bucky in confusion as he tried to piece together his and Coulson's conversation. Even hearing Coulson's words, Bucky didn't have a much better understanding of what was going on. 'What is it?' Loki mouthed, and Bucky shrugged in response.

" _We're sending Barton to handle it. We thought it more imperative that you be here._ "

"You gonna tell us what all this is about?"

" _Not over the phone._ "

That didn't bode well. Even when Coulson's team uncovered HYDRA agents within SHIELD's ranks, he was able to give Bucky and Loki the details over the phone without having to worry if someone else was listening. Whatever they were being called back to the States for, it had to be something important.

"Guess we'll see you in New York, then," he said, and Coulson hung up without bothering to say goodbye.

"What was that about?" Loki said once Bucky had tossed the phone onto the dresser.

"Your guess is as good as mine." He crossed back to the bed and reached for his clothes to start getting dressed once again. "Looks like we're not getting a day off after all."

It was around noon when their ride appeared. Bucky and Loki were sat at the kitchen table, bags packed and waiting by the doors, staring out at the gardens of the palatial estate they'd been staying in for the last week. Why SHIELD had a place like this in its possession Bucky didn't know, but it made such a nice change from their usual accommodation he wasn't about to question it. All of a sudden birds scattered from the trees lining the main lawn and the branches began to shake wildly, before a quinjet seemed to materialise out of thin air as it landed. The cargo door dropped open, and as Bucky and Loki made their way out of the house Barton stepped down onto the grass.

"You got any idea what's going on at SHIELD?" Bucky said when they met him in the middle of the lawn. They'd worked with Barton once or twice in the time they'd been on HYDRA's tail, and he was a nice enough guy, and damn good at his job too, even if he did seem the type who could injure himself trying to tie his shoelaces. Perhaps that made his skill all the more impressive.

He shook his head. "I just do what I'm told," he replied. "I don't ask questions. It's gotta be big, though; something had lit a fire under everyone's ass when I left."

Bucky glanced over at Loki, who looked back at him just as curiously. "Well thanks, Barton." He turned to carry on towards the jet, but before he could take more than a few steps Barton called after them.

"Hope you two changed the bedsheets before you left," he said, and Bucky stopped in his tracks, whirling around to see Barton grinning back at them.

"Does everybody know about the two of us?"

"In case you hadn't already noticed, Stark has a big mouth."

Of course. That was just what they needed. People at SHIELD already stared at him and Loki with more interest than Bucky was comfortable with; now they knew about his and Loki's relationship that scrutiny wouldn't be going away any time soon.

"You might want to steer clear of the master bedroom," Loki called as Barton headed towards the house.

"You guys are gross."

Loki met Bucky's eyes with a grin and, despite himself, Bucky returned it while they stepped into the quinjet and the door closed behind them. It didn't last long, though, and as they took off the frown worked its way back to Bucky's face.

"You wished to keep the true nature of our relationship under wraps?" Loki said, watching Bucky with that same knowing glint in his eyes that he usually wore when Bucky had something on his mind.

Bucky glanced towards the pilot, too focused on steering them up into the heavy cloud cover to pay attention to his and Loki's conversation. He hoped so, at least. "I don't want SHIELD knowing anything they don't need to," he replied just loudly enough for Loki to hear. "How safe do you think an organisation that's been infiltrated by HYDRA for almost 70 years without knowing really is?"

"A valid concern." Loki sat back and gazed out through the front windows for a moment before he spoke again. "So why do you think they need you back in New York?"

"No idea." He couldn't even hazard a guess at what all this was about, which only served to add to the anxiety building in his stomach.

"Coulson couldn't tell you anything?"

Bucky shook his head, and Loki sighed in response. "It's a pity we had to leave. That house was far more pleasant than anywhere else we've been placed."

A fond smile played on Bucky's lips as he stared back at Loki. "You've been on Earth eight months and already you're getting picky about your accommodations?"

"Well by rights I am a king," he replied. "I think I'm entitled to a certain level of comfort."

"You could have stayed."

Loki's good humour quickly disappeared at the suggestion. "There are men trying to kill you, Bucky," he said seriously. "You're lucky I let you out of my sight at all."

That wasn't exactly a rare occurrence in their lives, though Bucky appreciated the sentiment all the same. "Miss me if I was gone, wouldja?"

Loki glowered at him in answer. Bucky had come to know the look as the one Loki pulled whenever he knew Bucky was right but was too stubborn to admit it. It had seen a fair amount of use since they'd met. Bucky's smile widened at the expression.

"That doesn't change the fact that there are surely still HYDRA agents within SHIELD, and they know you're the one tracking them down," Loki went on. "I imagine they're already aware of Coulson's involvement as well at this point."

Bucky nodded. Word was getting out, that was for sure, and if their last few run-ins with HYDRA had been any indication, things were definitely going to get harder for them as time went on. His bullet to the gut wasn't likely to be a one-off.

"Still," he said, "it's nicer than the last time I was in Europe."

 

The sun was hidden beneath black clouds when they touched down on the roof of a building in Midtown Manhattan hours later, and once they'd climbed out of the quinjet Bucky gazed around at the dark sky until he caught sight of Coulson walking towards them. There was nothing in his demeanour to hint at what it was that had happened — though he could probably lose a limb and still act as nonchalant as ever.

"Gentlemen," he said. "It's good to see you again. You've heard of Director Fury?" He nodded to the man stood beside him, and as Bucky stepped forward the man held out a hand.

"Sgt. Barnes," Fury said in greeting while Bucky shook it.

"It's just Bucky, sir."

"Very well." His gaze flicked to Bucky's left as the footsteps approaching behind him came to a stop. "And this is the frost giant, I take it," he said, looking Loki up and down without any shred of subtlety. "I thought you'd be taller."

"Oh, I assure you I'm still just as powerful as the rest of my kind," Loki said. Despite the smile on his face, his eyes were cold when Bucky glanced back at him. "Would you care for a demonstration?"

"Another time, maybe." He turned to head into the building and Coulson followed, leaving Bucky to shoot Loki a stern look.

Loki looked back at him innocently. "What?"

"Please try to behave," he said. "They'll probably stick you in a cage here you so much as look at someone funny."

The scary thing was Bucky wasn't sure he was even exaggerating. He and Loki made their way into the building, decorated in the same cool greys as what he'd seen of the Triskelion back in Washington. It wasn't particularly welcoming, but then he'd hardly expected it to be.

"So what are we doing here, Coulson?" Bucky said as they stepped into the elevator at the end of the hall.

"We thought you'd want to see this."

As he spoke Coulson handed Bucky the tablet he'd been holding, and Bucky's eyes widened when he stared down at it. Onscreen were various SHIELD reports and pictures of the half-buried wreckage of a plane, its contents meticulously recorded, along with images of the excavation efforts. Bucky opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. This was too much to wrap his head around.

"How is this even possible?" Bucky finally managed. He gaped at Coulson, barely even noticing as Loki took the tablet from his hands to take a look himself.

"Aren't you and Loki living proof that what we think to be possible is often a conservative estimate?"

Bucky glanced helplessly over to Loki, still flicking through the files with raised eyebrows, though before any of them could speak again the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened on another clinical hallway, and they followed Coulson and Fury along it until they reached a spacious laboratory filled with SHIELD scientists, all focused on the windows lining the far wall and the smaller room beyond it.

Before Bucky could take another step, Loki caught his arm and pulled him aside. "Are you all right?"

Bucky nodded. "Still having trouble believing it," he said, "but yeah, I think so."

From the corner of his eye he saw Fury walking forward to shake hands with an older man and Bucky trailed off, watching the pair as an overwhelming sense of familiarity filled him. They stood talking for a moment, until the older man glanced in Bucky's direction. He met Bucky's eyes just as Loki's voice pulled Bucky back to reality.

"What is it?" he said.

"Nothing." Bucky shook his head and turned back to face Loki. "You'll be here when I get out?"

"Of course."

While he spoke Bucky's gaze flicked around the room again. Where everyone had been focused on their work when he and Loki had walked in, more and more of them had turned to watch Loki curiously, shooting him furtive glances or just outright staring as they spoke in hushed voices. They had to know who he was — what he was — and that unpleasant weight settled in Bucky's stomach again.

"I can handle a few SHIELD agents," Loki said before Bucky could even voice his thoughts. "Go."

He gave Bucky a reassuring smile, and Bucky headed towards Coulson waiting for him by the door to the other room. Inside was an array of workout equipment and machines taking different readings, but it was the man on the treadmill Bucky's attention was on. Before he'd stepped into the room he was half expecting this to be an elaborate and cruel joke, yet there Steve was, alive and well and looking no different from the last time Bucky had seen him. He was still oblivious to Bucky's presence as Bucky closed the door behind him, and he picked up one of the towels hanging on a rail beside the door, throwing it at Steve with a grin.

He jumped as the towel hit the back of his head, turning back and freezing in place when he met Bucky's eyes. He didn't even notice as he came sailing off the end of the treadmill. "Bucky?" he said, his eyes wide.

"Hey, Steve."

"Is this..." He blinked and looked to the windows behind him before staring back at Bucky, dumbstruck. "Are you..."

"Real?" Bucky filled in for him while Steve struggled to finish his sentence. He didn't blame him, really. It was one hell of a shock to the system. "In the flesh — more or less."

"I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, you too. Stupid move, by the way, crashing a plane while you're still inside it." He shook his head as he shut off the treadmill and took a seat on the bench beside it. Maybe everyone else called it a noble sacrifice, but to Bucky Steve's death had always been the actions of a dumbass kid finally succeeding in getting himself killed.

But he hadn't, somehow. He was back.

For a moment Bucky was struck by the possibility that this was just a horribly vivid dream and any second he'd wake up again. But he could feel the cold metal of the bench beneath him, the ache in his injured side; he'd felt Loki's lips on his before they'd left the quinjet. And when Bucky glanced back up Steve was still there above him.

He still looked blindsided by Bucky's arrival, though he seemed to remember himself a little after a moment, peeling the electrodes from his skin and slipping his t-shirt back on before coming to sit beside Bucky. "What happened to you?" he said.

"That's kind of a long story."

"Why do I get the feeling HYDRA comes into play somewhere along the line?"

Bucky glanced back at the SHIELD agents at the window, Fury stood front and centre watching them. "They filled you in, huh?"

"About how HYDRA's somehow been operating in the shadows this whole time and people have only just started to realise? Yeah, they filled me in." He sat back and let out a heavy sigh. "And here I was thinking the 21st century would be different."

"Well, the Dodgers are in Los Angeles now and it costs two dollars for a cup of coffee, but yeah, for the most part things haven't changed all that much."

"I guess that's—" Steve trailed off and looked round at Bucky again with a frown. "Two dollars?"

"Crazy, isn't it?"

Steve nodded, still looking dismayed by the news, and Bucky's eyes flicked back to the window. Loki had come to stand beside Coulson on the other side of the glass, and when Bucky met his gaze they shared a smile.

"Friend of yours?" Steve said beside him. His eyes were on Loki when Bucky turned to him again.

"That's Loki. He's my..." Bucky paused, watching Loki feign interest in whatever Coulson was telling him while Bucky tried to find the best way to describe him. Introducing him as the blue-skinned alien Bucky had fallen in love with probably wouldn't be a whole lot of help in acclimatising Steve to the 21st century. "He's Loki."

He laughed as he stared back at Steve. God, he'd never believe this if he wasn't seeing him with his own eyes. "We should have figured 70 years in the ice wouldn't be enough to stop you," he went on, and Steve let out a quiet laugh of his own. "I never would've thought the serum could work that well."

"Me neither. Is that how you survived the fall; whatever Zola's experiments did to you?"

Bucky nodded. "HYDRA found me afterwards." And turned him into a mindless killing machine, though he didn't mention that part. If Steve ever asked, Bucky could fill him in on all the gory details later. "I've been with them this whole time, 'til Loki got me out."

"And now you're working for SHIELD."

Before he could respond there was a knock at the door, and in stepped a dark-haired woman Bucky recognised as one of the handful of agents trusted with the news of HYDRA's actions. He wasn't entirely sure why she needed a gun strapped to her thigh while she was inside SHIELD's headquarters, but he knew better than to question it. Even the scientists in the lab were probably armed. "Captain Rogers," she said, while Steve and Bucky both stood, "Director Fury is ready to meet with you."

"Thank you."

"You think they'll let you out of here to grab a cup of coffee after you're done with Fury?" Bucky said as he and Steve hugged goodbye. "They sell all kinds now; you'll be amazed."

"That sounds great," he replied, and they turned to head back out into the main room. Steve's eyes widened again as Bucky reached for the door handle, and Bucky followed his gaze down to his metal hand.

"Yeah, that..."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Another long story?"

"I'll fill you in on everything once we get out of here," he said, before Steve followed the woman out of the lab with one last smile in Bucky's direction.

They were going to need a lot of coffee.


End file.
